Dive Brief:
- Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is adding Whataburger to its list of franchised QSRs, with plans to open its first of the burger joints later this year, President Shane Wharton said during a press conference last Wednesday.
- During the conference, Wharton said that the Whataburger will be adjacent to a Love’s travel center in Texas and is expected to open by the end of 2025. In a separate statement to C-Store Dive, a Love’s spokesperson confirmed that the company’s first Whataburger will be at its lone travel center in San Antonio and is scheduled to open in late summer or early fall.
- Restaurant partnerships are essential to Love’s business, as the company expects to surpass 1,000 total QSRs across its travel center network by the end of 2025, Wharton said.
Dive Insight:
Wharton said that Love’s has wanted to add Whataburger to its list of restaurant partnerships for a while. The burger chain has grown significantly in recent years, surpassing 1,000 restaurants across 16 states in the Southeast and Southwest last year.
“The people that like Whataburger, they really love it, so we're anticipating good feedback there,” Wharton said.
Whataburger will be the 20th restaurant brand to join Love’s travel center network, Wharton said. Others include Arby’s, Baskin Robbins, Burger King, Denny’s, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy’s. One of Love’s biggest restaurant partners is fried chicken chain Bojangles. The two companies signed a 40-location franchise agreement back in 2019.
Wharton said that Love’s will be adding an order-ahead option for its QSRs through its Love’s Connect mobile app, starting with more than 100 Arby’s restaurants, he added.
Wharton also said on Wednesday that Love’s is looking to add one or two additional restaurant concepts beyond Whataburger, but was not ready to share those details.
Love’s plans for its first Whataburger and overall QSR growth coincide with its broader 2025 goals, which include building 20 new travel centers and refreshing 50 existing locations under its ongoing $1 billion remodel project.
